Update: I was unfortunately not aware of Shamus Young's severe criticism of Fallout 3 available here to link in the original piece and I regret that. It dovetails rather nicely with what I've written and it's much better executed than my piece. I strongly recommend anyone...

OVERVIEW
Created and developed by Naughty Dog, Inc., Jak II™ is the follow-up
to their Greatest Hits
PlayStation®2 debut title, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.
Jak II is an action-adventure
game combining a variety of genres including adventure, action-platform,
puzzles, strategy,
racing and exploration into one vast, epic interactive experience. Destined
to be one of the
hottest titles of the year and kicking off the holiday season with an
October 2003 launch, Jak II
will stun players with its innovative character designs and animations,
superior technology and
spectacular graphics.

Jak II features familiar faces Jak, Daxter, Samos, Keira, as well as
the introduction of many new
characters in an all-new adventure with a darker look, tone and theme.
Jak II will catapult
players into an exhilarating epic journey, as themes of friendship,
betrayal, self-discovery and
revenge are unveiled along the way. As drastic and amazingly radical
transformations take
place, gamers will be swept away to a future alive with drama, conflict,
uncertainty and endless
possibilities that will forever transform the action-adventure genre.

STORYLINE
The legendary duo returns in Jak II, where Jak has grown into a mature
young hero with a
cynical attitude and hardened edge. Following the finale of Jak and
Daxter: The Precursor
Legacy, Jak and Daxter investigate a strange energy portal that propels
them 500 years into the
future where they find themselves in a foreign city. The city, under
siege and ruled by the
tyrannical Baron Praxis, is surrounded by a dark wasteland on the brink
of destruction with
menacing Metal Heads destroying the land. Upon arriving in the city,
Jak is immediately
captured by the Baron’s guards and thrown into prison where he
is experimented on with Dark
Eco, where even he doesn’t realize the full extent of the hazardous
substance. But with Daxter
assisting in Jak’s prison escape, the two begin their quest to
find out where they are, what has
happened and ultimately seek revenge on the Baron. Along the way, Jak
and Daxter will
encounter numerous diverse characters greatly impacting the adventure
they face ahead, while
they brace themselves for the foes lurking within the shadows of the
city.

KEY FEATURES

•Jak II fully integrates an intriguing plot with the gameplay
– every mission in the game has a
direct impact that drives the story forward, rewarding players for completing
tasks and
missions with meaningful cinematic cut-scenes.

•Players will enjoy more than 95 minutes of movie quality in-game
cinematics, top-notch
voice talent and a truly dynamic musical score. Each movie is rendered
in real-time, meaning
that any real-time weather effects that take place within the game will
also appear in the
movies, depending on when and where they are taking place.

•Gamers will meet a cast of brilliantly designed characters, each
playing a significant role in
this elaborately written and highly immersive drama. Players may have
a difficult time
detecting friend from foe as personal agendas, entangled motives and
mysterious
relationships emerge.

•Players are in for a fast-paced experience as they are transported
to an enormous and
seamless adventure from past to future and through a massive metropolis
that is 20 times as
large as any level within the entire world of the original Jak and Daxter.
In addition, there
are more than 15 areas outside of the city walls that Jak and Daxter
must explore.

•Gamers will enjoy enhanced graphical detail with visually stunning
and intricately detailed
character and environmental models. Characters are made up of 15,000
polygons per model,
versus 4,000 polygons in the original Jak and Daxter.

•Take over any vehicle to get from place to place, or to escape
the Baron’s clutches. Each
vehicle features a real physics engine, enabling players to severely
damage their vehicle or
even blow it up if it hits an object hard enough.

•With the addition of four powerful weapons, players expand their
move set and will embrace
the freedom to use them at any time.

•Transform into Dark Jak to open up a whole new move set and even
new weapons that are
upgradeable throughout the game.

•Once players gain the Jet-Board, they can take it out at any
time and ride across the
expansive city, or take their time grinding rails and performing tricks.
There is even a Jet-
Board Park found in the city’s stadium where the player can enter
a trick challenge to rack up
the highest score.

•Gamers will experience innovative technology and incredibly intelligent
AI, allowing for not
only smarter enemies with dozens of distinctive animations, but also
for the possibility to
fight alongside NPCs during certain missions.

•Never see the same citizen twice with a technology that generates
distinct NPCs throughout
the entire city.

Content on this page comes directly from press releases and fact sheets provided by publishers and developers and was not written by the Game Revolution staff.